There will be routs during a long baseball season, so the 15-1 drubbing the Phillies suffered at the hands of the Washington Nationals wasn't as concerning ( although the club did lose two of three at home to their division rival) as starter Nick Pivetta's effort.
Pivetta, counted on so heavily before the season as the rotation's No. 2 starter and on the verge of stardom, miserably failed again last night, giving up seven runs and seven hits in only 3 2/3 innings. If he doesn't get his act together soon Pivetta will be back at Lehigh Valley, while either Jared Eichoff or Drew Anderson take his place in the rotation. The front office is all-in this season, especially with their acquisition of Bryce Harper, so they there's a short leash on Pivetta.
The offense didn't do much against hittable ex-Phillie Jeremy Hellickson. Struggling Cesar Hernandez lashed two hits after being in a slump, but I'm hoping Scott Kingery gets more time at second base . Last night's embarrassing loss may have been a hangover from the stinging loss on Tuesday night, when the Phils were one strike away form taking Game Two of the series. That comeback win for the Nats vs Aaron Nola may be a turning point for Washington. For the Phillies, instead of getting off to their best start in 104 years and padding their National League East lead, they choked a tthe end and let the Nats back in the early race.
GM Matt Klentak stated before the game the organization is OK with the pitching .Rather than make trades of sign a free agent like closer Criag Kimbrel, look for the team to promote from within, as they juggle their starting rotation and bullpen.
The Phillies have a chance to rebound form their disappointing series with the Nats by playing the lowly marlins in Miami over the weekend. On Monday the club returns home for a brief three-game set with the Mets before heading on the road again against the Rockies and Mets.
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The Sixers won their regular season finale over the bulls. A meaningless contest. The real news was made by GM Elton Brand, who speculated that Joel Embiid, taking yet another night off, had a sore knee and may not be ready for the series opener ( Saturday afternoon vs Brooklyn).
Embiid has been off quite a bit since the NBA All-Star Game with "load management." News that he has lingering "soreness' in his knee is concerning, especially, after all the rest, he may still miss game 1 vs the Nets.
Let's be real- without Embiid, the 76ers have no shot vs. Brooklyn or most of all, in the second round of the playoffs. Worse yet, if he can't play when the post-season starts, what does that say about Embiid's future? Did the Sixers overuse him early in the season? Did Embiid hurt himself in the All-Star Game?
Sixer fans are frustrated because, even with ex- GM Brian Colangelo gone, the franchise continues to be dishonest with the fans and the media. Just be upfront with the fans, as there is already mistrust with the Sixer front office.
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